The Ups And Downs Of Life
by AvarageJane
Summary: The first time Orihime saw Grimmjow she was scared. What she didn't know, was that little moment, was the key event that spiraled her life into a whole new direction.


Ups And Downs

The first time Orihime saw Grimmjow, Aizen had asked her to renew his arm.

In all honesty, the blue haired man scared her to death, but she refused to look weak in front of the man who was causing everyone so much_ pain_. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. If she was ever going to be able to face Ichigo again, she was going to be strong.

She simply walked over to the espada, ignored his disbelieving stare, and gave him back his arm.

When she was done, her eyes involuntarily raked over his body for other wounds, and she was forced to fight off a blush that was threatening to attack her face.

He was _most _certainly an attractive man… er, _hollow._

* * *

The first time Grimmjow saw Orihime, the first thing he saw was her chest. Who could blame him anyway? He _was _male, _very_ much so what really stood out to him, was the look in her eyes. Even though she knew she probably wasn't getting out of this place, ever, she had hope in her eyes that made then shine in a way he'd seen only once and he was determined to remove Ichigo from the living world anyway.

He also noticed that the little girl actually did return his lost arm to him, information which was so disturbing he forgot to blink for a moment or two. The fact that some lowly human girl possessed such a great power, and was willingly using it on the enemy, confused him even more. Was she not smart? Just what the fuck was wrong with this woman?

* * *

The first time Orihime heard Grimmjow speak to her was after he saved her.

Two arrancar girls arrived in her room at a random moment, she had lost track of time a few days after she arrived, making loud announcements while glaring at her. The moment they stepped into her room, she knew they weren't on a friendly visit.

She had asked them to leave, as politely as she could too, though moments after they got violent. Her instinct was to protect herself, however her heart really went out to the girls. They obviously felt abandoned by Aizen, and truly believed that if she disappeared they would have his attention and love back.

She knew better. Aizen doesn't love. He doesn't care about anyone but himself but she wasn't anyone to tell them the truth so she endured. She allowed them to express their feelings of anger, hatred, confusion, and frustration on her battered body. She would be alright, and if she wasn't, at least it wasn't Aizen who got to destroy her, and that was always a good thing.

Nevertheless, Grimmjow came to her rescue moments after their aggression began. She knew better than to think he arrived at her room solely for the purpose of saving her, so when he asked for a favor, she wasn't surprised, though when she found out just _what_ the favor was, she was, very much, blown out of her mind.

Just what exactly was he playing at?

* * *

The first time Grimmjow saw any kind of wounds on Orihime, it bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

He had felt that bastard, Ichigo's, reiatsu die. That wasn't the problem, the problem was that _he_ hadn't beat the shit out of the twerp. It was his job to do that after all, so naturally, he sought out the girl Aizen acquired. She would be able to help; she _had_ given him his arm back without much hassle, bringing her dear Kurosaki-kun shouldn't cause her much issue. But when he got to her room, he saw those two sorry excuses of arrancars attacking her. She wouldn't have been able to help him if she was dead.

Needless to say, his temper rose.

_Why the fuck wasn't she defending herself_?

Having had enough, he broke through the wall and crushed the two girls. When he finally looked at the human, he saw the marks on her face.

"Heal your face." Was all he said, because for some reason, the marks on her face pissed him off.

That's when he should have known to stay the hell away.

* * *

The first time Orihime saw Grimmjow fight all out, she was frightened and thrilled.

The way his body moved, gracefully and fluidly, surprised her. Who would have known a man like _him_ would have _that_ kind of grace? The way he did everything else, brash, loud, and obnoxious made her think the man in front of her was a _totally different being_.

For some reason, the sheer power of the espada thrilled her, and that thought scared her. She should be focusing on _Ichigo_, not Grimmjow.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow found his thoughts straying to the human girl, he froze.

Why the fuck was he thinking about her? He never _saw _her and it's not like he would actually go out of his way to her section of Las Noches and speak with her. That was not Grimmjow. Not at all.

But, what surprised him the most, was the fact that when he recovered from his crazy musings, he was at the door of her room.

Shaking his head, he promptly turned around and his mouth began spewing profanities, his mood souring immediately.

* * *

The first time Orihime thought about Grimmjow, she wasn't very surprised.

It was only inevitable that her mind would wander to the sixth espada being that he did so many confusing, un-Grimmjow-like things. That wasn't much of a problem. What had really caused the orange haired girl surprise was _what_ she was thinking about. She shouldn't have been thinking about his hair, eyes, and toned upper body. It just wasn't right. He didn't care about her. He was out of her league. But most importantly, he was the _enemy_.

_Those_ thoughts should have been reserved for Ichigo only.

But, then why exactly did she have such a hard time _concentrating_ on Ichigo? Her mind had refused any Ichigo related thoughts and zeroed in on the way Grimmjow's eyes brightened when he was excited into an electric blue that she hadn't been able to compare to any other shade she'd seen previously.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow decided to visit the human, he gave up.

Thoughts about her had filled his mind for weeks and they simply wouldn't leave him alone. He'd tried everything. He fucked more girls than he ever had before, he got himself hammered, even tried letting his mind just do its thing. Nothing worked.

Nothing.

There was only one option left, so he had decided to visit the girl. Maybe, just _maybe_, he would stop thinking about her if she was in his presence.

When he actually got to her room, he hesitated for a moment before throwing all his inhibitions away, knocking then entering a moment afterwards.

He found her sitting on her couch and staring out of her window, the glow of the moon shining on her face causing her eyes to shine in a way that accentuated her sorrow. Quickly looking away - he didn't even want to think about what kind of effect seeing her like _that_ had on him, whether good _or_ bad – he walked to the nearest corner, sat down, and decided to just stick to watching her for a while, at least 'til he got bored.

Maybe, just maybe, his mind would get tired of her.

Hopefully.

* * *

The first time Orihime felt butterflies in her tummy in the presence of Grimmjow, she was cooking (the meals they gave her were a _little_ inedible…).

Ulquiorra had asked Aizen to let her use the kitchens per her many previous requests. He had agreed quickly and she found herself visiting them once a day, both to cure her boredom and to make _good_ food. Edible food.

The kitchens themselves were very nice but the food stored there was quite boring. For a while Orihime questioned the need to even have kitchens being that she was quite sure that the espadas did not eat anything that could be made in the kitched, but then she remembered that Aizen, Gin, and Tousen all need regular, human, food. At least, that what she assumed, though while looking for ingredients to make something she discovered not even a hint of red bean paste _anywhere_, and the thought of that even being_ possible_ scared her. The food they ate had clearly not been human, or they would have large quantities of it. Just what were they cooking?

When she finally sat down to eat her quite boring (but not nauseating) concoction, she felt a stare on the back of her head. As she turned around to discover the source of the feeling, she saw the sixth espada that plagued her thoughts on a daily basis for large amounts of time.

Noticing the look on his face, she opted to just turn back around and force her uneasy stomach to _calm down. _

She wouldn't be able to eat if she felt like her stomach was already full.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow felt anything akin to uneasiness was when he entered _her_ room only to find it empty. Granted, he normally did arrive at her room a little later, but he still expected her _to be there._ When she wasn't, he felt the urge to find her. If only because Aizen would be quite mad if his 'guest of honor' disappeared.

After looking for her through all of Las Noches and finally finding her in the kitchens, something like _relief_ traveled through his body forcing him to suppress a sigh. However, his posture visibly relaxed against his will.

Shaking his head, he promptly erased any thoughts out of his mind and asked her what the hell she was doing out of her room.

* * *

The first time Orihime got the courage to start a conversation with Grimmjow, it was possibly the stupidest thing she had ever said in her life.

"Is your hair natural?" Her soft voice broke through the silence that always filled 'her' room during his daily visits.

Grimmjow just looked up at her and waited for some sort of clarification to her stupid question.

Not getting any, he just rolled his eyes. "What kind of question is that? Of course it's natural! What, you thought that I dyed my hair? No one can replicate the color of my hair, it's too awesome for that." He exclaimed indignation filled his voice.

Orihime automatically put her hands forward in a calming gesture, not wanting to be killed just yet. "It just randomly popped up. No need to get touchy about it." She said, then thought about her words and a feeling of dread made itself known. As if she was asking for something bad to happen.

That time, he had actually growled a bit.

Surprisingly enough, the sound didn't scare her in the least; instead, she found it one of the hottest things he could have done, which _slightly _disturbed her. Sh should not have felt a shiver down her spine, or a warmth in her cheeks. Was she coming down with some sort of suicidal case of Stockholm Syndrome?

* * *

The first time Grimmjow realized he missed the orange haired human, he was on another stupid mission from Aizen.

Admittedly, the mission was taking a lot longer than anticipated, but that was no reason to _miss_ the girl. He hadn't even been aware that he was capable of feeling something close to that. Just because they were talking, more like she talked about stupid things and he listened -and that was only if he was in a good mood…- didn't mean she _meant_ something to him. She had just been used to relieve his boredom, and sometimes, she could even amuse him a little with her extraordinary antics. Nothing more.

Getting back to the matter at hand, he pushed back the weird ache in his chest and moved faster. The sooner he got this over with; the sooner he would be able to get some _sleep_, which was clearly what he needed.

* * *

The first time Orihime admitted to herself that she missed the foul-mouthed espada; it had been a month since she heard from or about him.

Throughout the month she had forgotten all about Ichigo and began worrying about _Grimmjow_. What if he didn't make it? What if he was hurt? Why was he gone in the first place?

She had contemplated asking around but she promptly erased those ideas. She hadn't want others thinking there was something _going on_ between them. She hadn't had any desire to speak to anyone either. Whenever the pang made itself known, she simply had to shake her head and promptly tell herself she shouldn't worry about him, he was strong, fast, and smart.

Nothing would ever hurt him.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow slept in Orihime's room, he was beyond exhausted. The mission wasn't hard. Not in the least, but it was _tedious_. It was more like a dozen missions in one with how many arrancars he had to fight in a row. They weren't anywhere near his strength but he still had to fight all of them, many times multiple at a time. He wasn't even sure why _he_ was sent in the first place. Aizen could easily have sent Ulquiorra, the emo bastard never did anything productive anyway and the guy had been boasting about his skills.

But then again, he _had_ been complaining about wanting a good fight…

Sighing for the millionth time, he found himself in the woman's hallway. He shook his head and raked his hand through his hair, what the hell is his problem? The first thing he does when he returns is walk to her room without even meaning to? How was that even possible?

Giving up on walking away, his room was _too_ _far away_, he knocked and walked in. The look on her face was very amusing but in his state though all he could do was grunt before collapsing on her bed, without even asking permission.

* * *

The first time Orihime saw Grimmjow relaxed, he had just passed out in her bed.

In all honesty, she couldn't bring herself to be upset. When she saw him at her door, she thought he would just collapse where he stood on the floor. His eyes had been half shut and she was pretty sure he was smiling. Grimmjow doesn't smile, ever. She was also positive he was swaying on his feet.

Apparently, her bed looked more comfy.

Letting out a sigh, she got up from her spot on the couch, and walked over to the sleeping man on her bed. He wasn't even _fully on the bed_, his bottom half was still on the ground, as if still waiting for its owner to actually lay down on the bed.

Thinking over her options, she opted to just move him a bit, if only to make him more comfortable. Judging from his snores, it's not likely he wake up any time soon anyway…

Moving him proved to be a bit harder than she had originally thought. His legs probably weighed as much as she did, and she wasn't very strong. Pondering which way would be easier to move him; she ended up just pulling his body across her bed, trying not to jolting him too much. When she had deemed he was in a satisfactory position, she began checking him for injuries and systematically began to heal them. It's not like she had anything better to do anyway.

Once she finished, she could have sworn he said something, but by the time she looked at him, his face was buried in her pillow and she was questioning her sanity.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow woke up with the human girl next to him, he was surprised.

He couldn't remember anything he did the night before other than the need for sleep and arriving at Las Noches. Why was she in his bed? What was going on? Had he _slept _with her?

Looking around, he quickly decided this was most definitely _not_ his room, looked at the clothes on the girl and sighed both pleased and slightly disapointed though he wasn't sure why. Shaking his head, he decided to go back to sleep; after all he was comfortable, warm, and _still_ tired. Why the hell was he going move?

As if sensing his thoughts, the girl in his arms, why the hell was she there in the first place was lost on him, sighed before pulling herself closer to him and shoving her face in his neck while taking in a deep breath.

Instantly frozen, Grimmjow forced himself to ignore the goose bumps beginning to arise through his body and began to count to one hundred, trying to ignore the armful of woman he currently held.

He was most definitely _not_ getting back to sleep anytime soon.

* * *

The first time Orihime ever woke in a man's arms, she decided that if she didn't get free, she would have bruises on her hips.

Waking up fully, the grey-eyed girl tried to move her body, only to find out that her _entire body_ was pinned by Grimmjow's. Sighing, she lifted her head and assessed her situation. Grimmjow was in her arms, asleep, and clinging to her hips with an iron grip as if afraid she would move.

She sighed.

How was it that she always wound up in awkward situations? She sighed again and froze. As if sensing her thoughts, the still asleep man in her arms tightened his grip, if that was even possible, and breathed in her hair… or at least the scent of her hair.

She sighed…again. She needed to pee and unless she got out of of her situation, there'd be problems.

Wiggling her arms slightly, she maneuvered them to his chest and pushed slightly. The completely asleep Espada did nothing and Orihime felt relieved as she now had breathing space and room to remove herself from his embrace. She quickly shimmied out of his grip and ran to the bathroom. If he woke angry, she didn't want to stick around to witness it.

Finishing her business, she splashed water on her face and walked out of her bathroom.

As she walked back over to her bed, to her utter disbelief, she found Grimmjow curled up in a ball, with his face shoved in the pillow she was just sleeping on.

* * *

The first time the two shared a kiss, it was nothing special. As a matter of fact, it was a complete and utter accident.

Orihime had been watching Grimmjow sleep, and when he woke up, his head lurched forwards and his face collided with hers.

And so did their lips.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow avoided someone like the plague, he was freaking out.

It had been a week since the incident.

A week since he'd seen her.

A week since he's smelled her.

The only thing he was sure about at the moment was that he enjoyed the girls smell. It was something he'd never smelled before and was intoxicated with it immediately, but not in a bad way. It wasn't something he had consciously sought out, or even noticed, but waking up with it imprinted into his nose, he was sure there was nothing that he had smelt which had a better scent.

He just couldn't face her since the incident. It's not that he was afraid of her -no- Grimmjow wasn't afraid of anyone, it's just that he didn't know what to do.

He was confused; but damn it, he wanted her, even if he only admitted it to himself.

But she didn't want him. She wanted _Kurosaki-kun__._

* * *

The first time Orihime felt heartbreak, it was with someone utterly unexpected.

It had been a month since the kiss.

Her first kiss.

When she was younger, she had imagined many different ways of getting her first kiss, but with only one person. The way it had happened was nowhere near any of them, and with the exact opposite person, nevertheless, it was better than she could have ever imagined. Grimmjow's lips had been soft and slightly sweet. She wanted to kiss them more. She really did, and it really disturbed her at first. She shouldn't have felt anything, tasted anything, or even thought about him after the crashing of lips, which it was more than an actual kiss.

Even if Ichigo would rescue her, she would miss the sixth Espada, a fact that she was forced to acknowledge shortly after Grimmjow stormed out of her room. No matter how hard she tried to forget Grimmjow and his lips, she really couldn't. It wasn't even a _real_ kiss for gods sake and she still couldn't get it out of her head. That's how much she cared about the espada.

She no longer wanted Ichigo's lips, his were thin compared to Grimmjow's. They even seemed a bit on the dry side compared with Grimmjow's.

There was no use being in denial.

She was slowly developing strong feelings for the blue haired espada. Ichigo became long forgotten.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow felt anything a kin to jealousy, he felt sick.

No matter how much he wanted to see the human girl, he had stayed clear of her. He wasn't going to put himself in a situation where he didn't know what he was going to do. It had been getting to the point where his body is not responding the way he wanted it to with others. Not only does he not have night partners anymore, but he's beginning to compare all the women to the human. That's not even the bad part. He feels disgust with himself knowing that he desired something that wants his enemy. That _is_ his enemy.

Sighing, he continued to walk to the meeting Aizen called together. As he got closer, he began to smell the human. Before he could think about turning around, he smelled Nnoitora too.

Against his better judgment, his curiosity grew and he went to see what was going on. He never saw the human with Nnoitora, nor had she ever expressed any desire to see him so their sudden meeting became suspicious to the sixth espada.

As the pair came into view, he felt a tightening in his chest. She shouldn't be so close to him. Suddenly, Nnoitora pinned the orange haired girl to the wall and before he even told his body to react, he was throwing the slimy git away from her.

"Get the fuck away from her." Was all he could growl out from his locked jaw.

No man or espada could touch what was his.

Ever.

* * *

The first time Orihime cried on Grimmjow's chest, she was terrified and relieved.

They hadn't spoken in months and Nnoitora took advantage of her distracted state. He appeared out of nowhere and then got in her personal bubble, acting as if they were friends or something. He suggested things that repulsed her. The fifth espada made her sick in general with his long tongue and greasy hair.

Stiffing slightly, he shoved her against the wall and began acting on his revolting promises. Before she could even utter a word of protest, a blue glob whooshed past her and threw the offending espada away. Once the adrenaline in her system was gone, she felt petrified, and Grimmjow had saved her. Again.

Before she told her body to react, she clutched his vest and cried. She felt as if someone opened the dam in her eyes and the water just rushed out without end. Her arms tightened around his neck and she felt him wrap his arms around her, as if silently comforting the distressed girl.

There, in his arms, she felt as if she finally arrived home.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow felt emotional pain, he was holding the crying girl.

He hadn't understood why, but seeing the girl cry, was possibly the worst thing he'd ever seen. No matter how many gruesome things he'd seen, the one thing he _never_ wished to see again was the girl in his arms cry. Such pure things shouldn't be given a reason to cry.

Wanting to comfort her, he enveloped her in a hug. He'd never dealt with a crying girl before and he had no clue as to how to comfort her, make her stop crying, though he'd seen many beings hug in order to project comfort.

Right as she tightened her hands around his neck, he felt her begin to relax, and a wave of possessiveness rushed over him. He comforted her. He made her tears stop.

He was on the top of the world.

* * *

The first time Orihime fell asleep standing, she didn't even notice.

When she finally forced her tears to stop, she felt as if she completed her crying quota of the year. It was the first time she'd cried in Las Noches. Before she could feel revulsion at crying and looking weak before Grimmjow, the exhaustion of her actions toppled down onto her shoulders causing her to lay her head on his chest and closed her eyes, if only to rest them for a bit.

Besides, she was safe in his arms.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow took the human girl to his room, she was asleep.

After she'd fallen asleep in his arms, he felt a surge of pride at the thought of her trust in him, he became distressed as to where to take her. He had a meeting to go to – he didn't want to anger Aizen – and the girl's room was in the complete opposite direction. Weighing his options, he decided to just take her to his room quickly and go to his meeting.

As he laid her on his bed, he brushed her hair away her face and hoped that she didn't wake before he got back. Getting a piece of paper and pen, he quickly scribbled a note and left the room.

As he walked quickly to the meeting, realization of what he just did hit him. Hard.

Not only was he falling for the human, but he was whipped.

Badly.

* * *

The first time Orihime awoke in Grimmjow's room, she was alone.

As she looked around the room, her face became an unflattering shade of purple.

She was in his room, the most private of places. Alone.

Before her mind could create any crazy scenarios, she walked over to the door. Right before she turned the knob, she noticed a piece of paper jammed into the door with a pen. As she removed the pen, the paper fell and she picked it up. Deciding it was most likely for her, she opened it and read the quickly scribbled note.

"Stay."

Looking around the room, she re-read the word. Again and again. How could one word create such weird feelings at the pit of her stomach? One note had so much control of her feelings that it slightly frightened her, thohugh not as bad as it would have before. She had come to terms with her feelings a while ago, it's just the _extent_ of her feelings that made her uneasy.

Quelling her excitement at the thought of Grimmjow wanting to talk to her, or at least wanting her to stay in his room until he came back, she began to take in her surroundings. Unlike her room, his had a huge bed, a bureau, a couch, a desk, and various other miscellaneous objects that she felt little desire to snoop through. It was a simple room, but she automatically recognized it as his room. Something about it just screamed Grimmjow.

As she walked closer to the nearly bare desk, the door she had just been standing before opened and the owner of the room walked in. Orihime immediately turned toward him and stood still, waiting for him to make the first move.

While he stood, just as motionless as her, she wondered what he was thinking about. While the encounter was a bit awkward due to their last 'conversation', he clearly wanted her to stay in his room for some reason.

Clearing his throat, Grimmjow looked up at her. "Are you ok?" He asked, his gruff voice sounded aggravated, but Orihime knew better.

Blushing madly – she still wasn't over crying in front of him— Orihime looked down and muttered a soft 'yes' unsure of what else to do. After her quiet response, a thick, uncomfortable silence filled the room, the tension running wildly between the two.

Sighing deeply, Orihime finally voiced the one thing that hung over their heads, not letting them breathe normally.

"About the kiss—"

"It was an accident." He said abruptly, his voice tense and clipped.

Even if she had expected his reply, it still hurt. She foolishly developed feelings for the espada and _she knew_ he wouldn't reciprocate. He didn't know how. She let the words finally sink in and held back the tears threatening to pour out of her eyes. Not wanting to stay in the room any longer — she felt as if she would break if she stayed any longer ― she quickly walked past the man and out of the room.

She had a feeling she just left her heart in that room.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow felt what a tear felt like on his face, it came from his own eye.

Catching the offending thing before it fell out of his eye, he growled. He was never going to see an expression like that on the girls face because of him. Ever.

Sighing, he said a fair share of vulgarities and went to lay down.

Some sleep would cure his weird itch in his chest.

* * *

The first time Orihime didn't eat, Ulquiorra was surprised.

He'd always threatened to force feed the human but thinking about it, it wouldn't be worth his time. Even if she didn't eat one day, she wouldn't die. Humans are more durable than that. It's not like he was worried about the girl.

Walking out of the room, he decided that he would force feed her the next time she refused to eat.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow heard Aizen hint at killing his 'guest', he had to force himself not to give any indication that his words had an effect on him. It had been a months since he last saw the human girl.

No matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't let them affect him. He couldn't let Aizen know that he held something over his head. Let alone that it was _precious_. Sighing harshly, he forced himself to think about killing something – it's not like he actually paid any attention to Aizen's meetings anyway.

As he was getting up to leave the meeting room, Aizen's voice stopped him.

"Why don't you join me for another cup of tea Grimmjow?" Unlike his tone, Grimmjow knew it wasn't a question. It was an order.

Sighing, the blue haired espada sat back down and looked at Aizen tiredly. Once the man put down the tea cup that was at his mouth, the smile on his face was wiped clean and left an annoyed Aizen. Quelling the urge to run the other way, Grimmjow just stared at the ex-shinigami and waited for some sort of a 'conversation'.

"Have you been busy lately?" Was the first thing out of his mouth, making Grimmjow question if his ears were beginning to fail him.

After a tense silence, he decided that he had heard right and answered with a quick 'No'.

"Then why exactly have you been ignoring my requests?" He asked, finally getting to his point. Unsure of what to do, he shrugged. Knowing that wasn't a desired response, he began to mentally prepare himself for some sort of punishment.

"Grimmjow, just how necessary do you think our guest is?" His eyes zeroed in on Grimmjow, and Grimmjow wasn't exactly sure what to do. He couldn't answer either way because it would put him in more unpleasant positions. Nor did he want to endanger the girl.

At a loss of what to do, Grimmjow just shrugged. Again.

"Well Grimmjow, I think I she might be outliving her welcome." Was all Aizen said before getting up and walking out the door, leaving the stunned espada behind.

Grimmjow remembered the days when he hated all humans, when all he thought about was killing, maiming, and living. He remembered when his life was simple, easy, relaxed. He remembered the days when he would sleep days at a time and mess with the emo bastard and the spoon for entertainment. But now that was all different. All because of the girl, and now, he was getting threatened.

Aizen was threatening him. With the girl.

Before he knew what was happening, he growled deep in his throat, stood up, and promised himself something that was so surprising that he didn't notice till he was in bed.

No one was ever allowed to hurt the girl.

Ever.

* * *

The first time Orihime talked to Ulquiorra about her problems, he actually listened.

She was out of options and unless she wanted to go crazy, her only option was to talk to someone, and Ulquiorra was the only one she talked to other than Grimmjow, which she hasn't seen in months. He was also the only one who crossed paths with her, being that he was charged with her 'babysitting'.

She told Ulquiorra everything, from her feelings for the sixth espada to her worries about her mental state. In return, Ulquiorra listened to her and gave her a one sentence response. Before turning on his heel and striding out of her room.

"Make your actions be for you, not for anyone else."

After that, Orihime sat and thought. Just what exactly made her happy?

Only one face popped into her mind.

* * *

When Grimmjow finally came to terms with his feelings for the human, he was frustrated.

He wanted to accept the feelings and have them disappear.

They didn't. In fact, it seemed as though they had flourished in his acceptance.

While he might have felt better, the emo bastard was looking at him as trash ―more so than usual―and that just didn't sit well with him. On top of that, Aizen was using every excuse imaginable to remind him about his weakness, which pissed him off. Shinigamis ―whether current or ex― shouldn't be able to have anything on him. It just wasn't acceptable.

At all.

* * *

The first time Orihime saw Grimmjow in a year, she was stunned still.

She was over whelmed with feelings and the fact that he fixed her with a weird stare made it worse. It was as if he was in _pain_. But Grimmjow didn't feel pain.

But then why did Orihime have to squash the urge to go hug him and tell him everything was going to be ok?

* * *

The first time Grimmjow said Orihime's name, he was dying.

Being the stupid bastard that he was, he let Orihime be hurt. Of course, that was Aizen's plan, lucky for her, he got in the way just before she was stabbed.

He wouldn't know what to do if it was her in his position.

He had been stupid and underestimated Aizen. He didn't expect the Shinigami to plan Orihime's death. He'd thought there was more time. He hadn't expected any of this to happen, he was a terrible strategist. He was a do first, think later type of guy.

He hated to admit that the emo bastard helped him, but he really did. If it wasn't for him, he would be walking in to her room only to find her bleeding to death.

He coughed up some blood.

He really wasn't getting out of this one was he? Mentally shaking his head ―he was pretty sure that if he really did, he would pass out― Grimmjow looked at Orihime, and the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Tsk, don't cry for a low life like me. Save those tears for those who deserve them, Orihime." Was all he could say before coughing up more blood. His excellent vision began to blur and he struggled to stay with the girl.

He was going to stay for as long as possible.

* * *

The first time Orihime was terrified for Grimmjow's life, she could barely see him though her tears.

One of Syzel's experiments had been let loose and arrived at her room, quickly reducing it to rubble and proceeded to attempt to kill her. In all honesty, she was pretty much ready to die, but just as she was going to get pierced through the heart, a familiar blue blur ran in front of her and took the fatal hit for her. The spiderlike experiment had been quickly dealt with, but she knew that Grimmjow was in bad shape.

Not only was he coughing up blood, but he wouldn't stop bleeding and fell to the ground the second he killed the threat. Not accepting the fact that one stab could do him in, she went to look at the legs of the creature, trying to discover the cause of Grimmjow's near death state. As she examined the leg, she noticed a thick layer of clear liquid that began eating through the material of her dress.

_Poison… great._

Running back to the fallen espada, she couldn't hold back her tears.

"Tsk, don't cry for a low life like me. Save those tears for those who deserve them, Orihime." Was all he said, and Orihime couldn't keep herself from crying. He had said her name, for the first time, ever, before his eyes began to flutter.

Random moments between them flashed through her mind, and her resolve to save him hardened.

"Come on Grimmjow, don't you die on me. I swear, if you do… I don't know what I'll do." Said the orange haired girl, before pouring all of her power and energy in healing him.

He was going to survive.

End of story.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow felt like the dead, he was waking up.

The first thing he saw was Orihime, looking more like a ghost than human, healing him. When she noticed he woke up, she smiled lightly, and whispered, "I'm glad you lived. I care too much about you to let you die." And she fainted.

He didn't know what to do. For the first time he felt lost, he couldn't ask anyone for help, for if he did, they'd be suspicious. The beast within him growled with frustration. He didn't like this feeling. He was the protector, not the other way around.

He finally decided to just let her rest; humans need lots of rest anyway, so it should help.

He quickly picked her up and took her to his room, and let her rest.

* * *

The first time Orihime dreamed of a distressed Grimmjow, she wanted to do nothing but calm him down.

The dream was quite out the norm – even for her. While she couldn't actually _see_ what was happening, she knew everything that was happening around her. She felt Grimmjow pace back and forth next to her and was muttering words a mile a minute.

Trying to reach out to him, she felt like lead. She couldn't move. Not even an inch.

She tried to give him a sign, anything that everything was going to be okay but she could only breath. Her body was exhausted, all she wanted to do was sleep for the next decade.

As Grimmjow got further and further away, she heard her name, in the most lost and scared voice she'd ever heard.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow ever doubted himself, he was sure he was going crazy.

He barely ate, let alone slept. All he did was watch Orihime and go to the meetings Aizen required him to be in. It had been a week since the girl fainted. He couldn't understand why she even helped him. She shouldn't have any feelings for him. He was her enemy; yet here she is unconscious from healing him, pushing her boundaries and causing her body to literally give up. He would have healed by himself; and even if he hadn't, he was fine with that. As long as she was out of danger, all was good. That was his instinct; the panther in him.

But then she went and threw all of it away. She went and healed his wounds and hurt _herself_.

The one good thing about this entire situation was that Aizen believes that he's mourning or something like that. Due to Orihime's terrible mental state, even Aizen wouldn't be able to detect her reiatsu.

As he walked back to his room; he grew more worried. She hadn't eaten or drank anything in a week. That couldn't be healthy for her. She had to wake up soon or else he would be forced to do something impossible.

Sighing, he walked into his room. Looking over in the girls direction, he saw she was still the same. He had to fight the urge to pace next to the bed, again. She'd been getting paler, and if he listened hard enough, he could hear her heart beating slower each day. If she didn't wake up soon, she'd _die_.

Suddenly, he heard a ruffle of sheets, and he turned so fast he gave himself a whip lash.

Right there―in front of his eyes―the girl he'd been so worried about, was getting up. Her big grey eyes were looking at him.

Before he knew what he was doing, he kissed her.

Hard.

* * *

The first time Orihime was _really_ kissed; she felt like she was flying.

She a woke disoriented but when she saw Grimmjow, everything came back to her. The Arrancar, how Grimmjow nearly got killed because of her, and how she used everything she had to heal him. Just as she sighed a breath in relief, he had a pair of lips crashed on hers.

Determined not to be stunned and waste a perfectly good kiss, she quickly wrapped her arms around the espadas neck and pulled him to her. She didn't know how long the kiss was going to last – he might realize what he was doing and push her away ― but she was going to make it the best she ever had. She loved the espada that she was kissing and no matter what he felt about her; she was going to show him.

Suddenly, she was pulled flush against his chest and she found herself straddling him. Not wanting to let him have the last 'move', she tentatively opened her mouth. Clearly taking the invitation, the espada explored her mouth, and when their tongues touched, he let out a low growl at the back of his throat.

Loving the sound, Orihime giggled. As their lips parted, Grimmjow's head was quickly buried in the crook of her neck and Orihime felt so much emotion well up in her, that she didn't know what to do with it. Grimmjow breathed and let out the biggest sigh she'd ever seen or felt.

"I thought you were going to die." Was all he said, and Orihime felt her heart go out to him.

"I'm here now. I'm not going to die. I really don't think my Shoten Kenshin would let me die anyway…" She replied and she softly massaged his scalp, hoping that would relax him, if only a little.

He sighed again and lifted his head to look into her eyes. When she looked into his eyes she saw so much emotion she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was sure she'd never see that in his eyes again, so she savored it, imprinting it into her mind.

"Are you going to ignore me again? Are we going back to what we were before?" She asked, wanting to get it straight so she wouldn't get her hopes up.

"Nah, it's too stressful." Was all he said before he laid on his bed, his eyes on her back.

Giggling slightly, Orihime let out a sigh and curled up into his warm chest, knowing that they'd be alright.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow said 'I love you', the war was finally over.

Aizen was safely locked up in the soul society and the surviving espadas ― himself, Ulquiorra, and Nel ― were all given options in life.

Orihime had been away from him during the fight, healing the injured on the battlefield, while he had been fighting in Hueco Mundo. The fight was easy but long, so all he wanted to do was find Orihime and sleep. And then eat.

He'd just have to steer clear of Orihime's cooking, he hadn't survived only to die of food poisoning.

When he'd finally found her in the middle of healing Hiyori, the half-hollow shinigami girl who got cut in half, he'd just watched her. She was…pretty in the orange glow of her Shoten Kenshin. He was so lost in his thoughts that he those three little words slip out.

Thankfully, she hadn't heard them.

* * *

The first time Orihime heard Grimmjow state the extent of his feelings, they were lying in bed.

She'd decided to go all the way with the man she loved―even if she hadn't told him that yet. She'd fallen asleep after and when she woke up, he was watching her. Right as her brain decided to work; he'd said those three little words that were hanging off her tongue every moment of everyday.

_I love you._

She's immediately jumped him and repeated the words over and over again while kissing his face at random places.

When she finished, she laughed at the look of confusion, surprise, and maybe sort of embarrassment. If she looked hard enough.

He'd promptly told her to 'screw herself' and got out of bed.

* * *

The first time Grimmjow and Orihime both felt whole and relaxed for the first time, they were cuddled up together with their two week old daughter in between them.

They'd had a rough relationship, they still have their ups and downs, but they always made it through the day.

Grimmjow had his rare moments of romance and Orihime loved every second of it. The orange haired girl dealt with his violent tendencies and called Rukia to send Ichigo for some 'sparring' in Urahara's basement.

He dealt with her random outbursts and went out, in the middle of the night, to buy her food to make her some of the _really weird_ cravings she got during her pregnancy. He even at one point went an _entire month_ without any type of sex because she thought it would be weird. That was love.

They now had a family, and could sleep at night knowing that they wouldn't have to worry about being killed. Even if Grimmjow still fought Ichigo at least once every week.

And whenever they went to the soul society, they had free passes of some sort, he would always look for Kempachi so he could get a 'real fight'. defined by hy him as: with someone's blood drawn. Apparently, neither would be satisfied otherwise.

When he was done Orihime would heal him anyways.

Yeah, life was good.

- End -

**_A/n: So I literally started this in Aug. and finished it yesterday. Hope you liked it!_**

**_Edit 06/02/13: I got a random bout of need to fix this fic. I'll have to say that it was some what half assed, but I think it's a good improvement as to what it was. I still have tense issues, but I believe all other problems were solved. Hopefully._**


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